SoftBank Ventures Korea, the local corporate venturing unit owned by Japan-based internet conglomerate SoftBank, has appointed managing director Joon-pyo (JP) Lee (pictured) as its next chief executive.
Lee replaces Gyu-hak (Greg) Moon, who has moved to SoftBank Vision Fund, the $100bn tech fund led by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Rajeev Misra, head of the fund’s advisers.
Lee said: “It has been almost 15 years since my first startup Evixar partnered with SoftBank, and many different emotions went through my mind at this new development. As the new lead of SoftBank Group’s only venture investment arm, I have a great sense of responsibility to take SoftBank Ventures to its next phase.
“I also would like to congratulate my predecessor Greg Moon for joining SoftBank Vision Fund as a new managing partner. Based on our strong internal partnership with Daniel Kang and Sean Eunwoo Lee, we will try to become the most trusted backers of innovators around the world.”
“We plan to discover promising tech startups in various fields and locations and will continue to work closely with SoftBank’s global network to support the growth of startups,” he added in a statement.
Lee founded Evixar while studying at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and the software developer, which was funded by SoftBank Ventures, was later sold to electronics chaebol LG.
Lee subsequently served as director of business development at online video technology producer Gom and established another startup, Enswers, a video search technology platform later acquired by KT.
In 2015, Lee joined SoftBank Ventures and led investments in portfolio companies including MyMusicTaste, Balance Hero, Lunit and TwoXAR.